John Lee, newly minted Republican, slams Biden taxes

North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee hosted a roundtable discussion with local small business owners and representatives coordinated by the Republican National Committee on Wednesday, as the newly converted Republican continues to weigh a run for higher office.

Lee and about 10 local business owners gathered at Foursquare Roofs and Walls on the North Las Vegas border to discuss their struggles during the pandemic and criticize President Joe Biden’s proposed infrastructure plan, saying it would raise their taxes and hurt their companies without actually improving roads, bridges and water supply.

The group also railed against the state’s handling of the pandemic, specifically criticizing business and school closures.

Lee began the discussion by noting millionaires will recoup any corporate tax increases levied by Biden, but increases to those in the room — those making $400,ooo or a bit more a year from a profitable small business — will hurt the economy. The figure comes from Biden’s campaign pledge not to raise any taxes for any household making less than $400,000.

“We look down upon people in this country making money, but if it weren’t for those people, everybody below us wouldn’t make any money,” said Lee, who also runs a plumbing business.

Lee said the economy was reliant on small business owners in a number of ways beyond providing employment, including keeping insurance and doctors in business by providing benefits, keeping lawyers and real estate agents working and regularly eating at high-end restaurants.

He added that Nevada is also reliant on those making more than $400,000 in its tourism industry.

‘Pet projects’

The group contended these tax increases won’t even go to their intended purpose, with Lee saying only seven percent of the $2 trillion infrastructure plan going to roads and other areas while the rest funded “pet projects” for Democrats.

The business owners complained of a lack of trade schools and training programs, as well as too much federal aid hurting their potential workforce.

“People make more on unemployment than they do working,” said Derek Uehara, president of the Nevada Small Business Council and a former Republican office-seeker.

The Democratic National Committee slammed their counterparts for holding such a political event just hours ahead of Biden’s address to Congress.

“The data is clear: A bipartisan majority of Americans want President Biden’s historic investment in our nation’s infrastructure, and support funding his agenda by making the wealthiest among us and corporations pay their fair share,” spokesman Will Baskin-Gerwitz said. “One hundred days into the Biden presidency, Nevadans are too focused on turning the corner on the pandemic and reopening our small businesses to pay attention to any noise from the other side.”

Potential candidate

Although Lee is not yet officially running for any office in 2022, the event had all the makings of a campaign event, with attendees asking him to provide change in state leadership.

“I think there’s a lot of people who are losing faith and hope in Nevada,” Lee said in an interview following the event. “I think they know at the core that we’re a great state… but because of what’s happening with COVID and what’s happened to the leadership in this state right now, people are losing their sense of respect for what we can do and they’re losing their hope.”

Lee has been widely rumored to be eyeing a bid for governor in 2022 and recently embarked on a tour to visit every county in Nevada. Asked if he will seek the governorship or perhaps a bid in Nevada’s 4th Congressional District, Lee would only say he was “considering running for an office where I can make a difference.”

Lee is eligible for a final four-year term as mayor of North Las Vegas, but said in 2017 and again this month that he would not seek reelection.

Contact Rory Appleton at rappleton@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0276. Follow @RoryDoesPhonics on Twitter.